2021 is gone. I am more experienced and older than last year. And in this review, I would like to write about my experience of 2021 and what I have achieved. Was this a wonderful year, and I could complete most of the things I planned, let me write them down here. So, I would like to divide the article into the following subparts;
1. What did I plan to do in 2021?
What are my major achievements? And where did I miss the target?
What are the reasons for my success and failure?
And in the last;
2. What have I planned to do in 2022?
So, let me start with;
Like me, everybody has heard that a goal without a plan is nothing but a wish. True. We can't move forward if we don't know where we have to go. We must know our destination. So, planning is important. And successful planning with good execution is the real work. Because without execution, planning is worthless. I had executed some of my plans poorly. While I did most of the things I planned I am far behind my goal. I have been too slow in implementing the good things. I confess it.
What did I plan to do in 2021?
1. Reading to improve my knowledge and develop new skills (at least a book every month). ( Reading includes; reading to improve my knowledge of value investing, digital marketing, money management and self-development).
2. Health and fitness goals;
Running (at least 1 mile daily)
Doing daily exercise and getting rid of junk foods (Giving at least 20 minutes a day to exercise, getting rid of sugar or minimizing the intake, and minimizing eating out)
3. Writing; I have to follow my daily writing schedule and publish the articles on my websites, others' websites and write and publish on kindle (at least 500 words a day content to be produced).
Writing had to provide me with enough money by the end of the year so that I could quit my job and work full time on my writing career. ( I had this goal for 2021 but I am far behind my goal here)
Here is the detailed review;
Reading: What did I read in 2021?
I read a total of 11 books in 2021 ( I read 29 books in 2020). Here is the complete list of books I read in 2021
1. Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon
2. Think Like a Monk By Jay Shetty
3. Born Standing Up By Steve Martin
4. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck By Mark Manson
5. The Millionaire Fastlane By M.J. DeMarco
6. Bold By Dr. Peter H. Diamandis
7. Mindset by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.
8. Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad by Austin Kleon
9. Show Your Work! By Austin Kleon
10. The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations for Clarity, Effectiveness, and Serenity By Ryan Holiday
11. Skip the Line: The 10,000 Experiments Rule and Other Surprising Advice for Reaching Your Goals by James Altucher
While I could not read as much as I did in 2020, but still I could complete enough quality books that have truly improved my knowledge. Most of the books I read in 2021 were written by highly successful people who have shared their practical pieces of advice in the books. Such books are very important for anybody who wants to improve by learning from people who have done it.
Where did I fail, and where did I achieve the best?
Well, I could not complete a book a month which I planned. But, I am happy that I achieved most of what I planned. I also read and studied a lot of other stuff that is similar to reading books. I find my performance here satisfactory if not the best.
My health and fitness goal; What I did in 2021 to stay fit and healthy?
We have to live in our bodies. And we have to make them strong and capable to last longer without any illness. However, we have no control over illnesses but we can easily minimize the risk of dying from serious diseases if we take care of our health. And the good news is; you don't need to invest a lot of money to get it done. Anybody can easily breathe better, live better by taking care of the body. And so you.
While I had been a chronic smoker who had smoked over 20 cigarettes a day for nearly 14 years. It felt impossible to quit smoking. I tried to quit it many times. I failed, I tried again, failed again, and then I succeed.
And now I am smoke-free for the last 30 months. It feels good.
It feels like I am more confident and stronger than ever. And anybody can do this.
Not only this, After quitting smoking, I started running. Now running is part of my daily routine, I can't miss it.
Even when I am out of station or travelling, I plan to not miss my running activity. It is something I can't live without it. Running is my habit now. And it has helped me a lot to improve in many areas.
Running has not only improved my health but also helped me in developing myself very well. I am now more focused and put more effort into whatever things I do. It has also made me stronger, and now I feel calm and energetic. However, this is a tough exercise and often painful but it reminds me that I am living.
Running improves my mood, and I am now in better shape. It is such an exercise, you don't require any special training or tools to do. Your shoes and the road next to your door is the only thing you need. You will not experience the result of running immediately but in the long term, you will thank yourself for doing it.
I have a daily running goal. Every day either in the evening or in the morning I go running for a minimum of 2 miles. Sometimes, I even cover more than 4 miles. So, there is nothing fixed but one thing is sure I will run daily.
Other things for a good and healthy body I do.
I also participate in other aerobic exercises (indoor cycling, push up, pull-ups etc) which have already helped me a lot and now I am living better than ever. I was also planning to attend a gym in 2021 but I missed doing that. I hope I will be there soon for daily workouts but due to my busy schedule and lots of things to do, I could not do it.
We can do exercise anywhere because it does not require so much equipment or any large space which you can't afford. And, If you don't get time for exercise, you're living with excuses.
Where did I fail, and where did I do better?
I had given more than 20 minutes a day to exercise and run on an average of 2.5 kilometres a day. I also minimized sugar intake. Now, I hardly take anything which had any refined sugar. The impact of exercise and minimizing sugar intake are visible in me. I have done really good here. I am thankful of myself.
How to keep on going even if you don't have any motivation;
Many times when I feel low, I don't want to continue it. And in such moments I remind myself about the famous statement by Elon Musk on why he never gives up" I like to feel good about the things I want to experience in future". It is a great motivator. If you're not living a good life at the moment, you can at least feel it and work for it so that your future is a reality. And if it is so good you can't leave, you will keep on working for it.
And it is more like; why do you keep on working on a poor job?
Only because you want to earn something and get rid of these boring routines in the future so that you could live a good life. Truly, we all want to live a good life. But, we have to work for it. No, we have to work a lot for it.
Writing; What did I plan to do here?
Writing is my daily activity. No matter if it is the weekend or the start of the week, all the days are equal for me. I write every day and I will keep on doing it. Whether I write 100 words or 1000 days, I will continue it. Writing makes me good. At least it helps me to reveal the things I have in me. It also promotes my work. Maybe what I write can help someone.
Stopping it will impact me and other people. So, I will be with it daily. Believe me, even if I use a few minutes of my daily routine on writing, I do it.
The little things matter the most;
We all want to succeed. We want to lead a wonderful life of abundance of good things. But, we always miss the basic things in our life. And that is we don't want to take that small step. We always aim to be popular and successful. But, we don't do the basic thing to get it. And I have experienced this. I have a habit of thinking about big achievements.
But, I always fail to acknowledge that all those big achievements can only be enjoyed if we enjoy the small achievements.
If I want to be popular as a writer. I have to write daily for years if not decades. I have to take that small step of showing up for the writing no matter what are my circumstances.
It is like if you want to run a marathon you need to get ready for it by small runs. You can't run it without preparing for it.
And if you do you may harm yourself and maybe you don't get fit for running ever.
Where did I fail and where did I do better in writing?
I planned to write 500 words a day. But, I failed here. I couldn't complete any kindle book. I even could not write and publish an article on another website. I did not earn any backlinks which are essential for my website to rank higher in Google searches. I failed here miserably. My performance here is less than satisfactory. I need to improve here a lot.
What I am planning to achieve in 2022?
Time is passing out with its speed. We have no control over it. Either you work for your goals or waste your day doing nothing, time does not care. With every passing moment, we're getting closer to 2023. So, without a goal and willful work on things, we're not going to go anywhere.
So, I have to plan to use my 2022 very well. Here is what I have to do;
Reading;
I am planning to complete 9 books this year. I will revise the books I read in 2021 by March and after that, I will read one book a month.
I also figured it out that no matter how many books you read, if you don't apply the knowledge you learnt, it is waste of time. Also, reading along with making notes is more important than reading on a couch because we read a book to gain insight and improve our knowledge, it is not a crime thriller.
Health and fitness goals;
I can't achieve anything if I am sick and not able to do anything. Health is more important. Nobody likes to stay around a sick person. And I will continue running daily, and doing basic exercises that keep me healthy and fit. This year I am also planning to reduce my sugar (refined) intake by 75%. I will celebrate sugar-free days, weeks, and even months to motivate myself and the people around me. I will also write about my experience of those achievements. I also drink 4-5 cups of teas every day and here I will also work to control. I would prefer taking green or black teas to white teas (Milk and Sugar).
I will also buy some home gym equipment ( I already have a bike, 2 kg, and 1 kg dumbbell sets) to use most of my home time which I spend on leisure activities. So, I hope for the best. Wish me good luck.
Writing Goals:
I will write daily. This year, I am planning to write over 800 words of content daily. The content will be published on my websites, other's websites and in kindle format.
Conclusion;
While I have not achieved most of my goals but I am happy that I worked for them. Every day I did something that could take me closer to my goals. And I am sure that this time I will do better.
